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Giant's Grave is a wedge tomb situated near Magherafelt in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This megalithic monument dates to the Neolithic or Bronze Age and represents one of the distinctive burial structures found across the island of Ireland. The tomb is protected as a scheduled historic monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference number 12960.
The monument rests upon Ordovician bedrock comprising mafic extrusive rocks—ancient lava and tuff formed over 440 million years ago. This volcanic geology characterises the wider landscape around Magherafelt and would have been well-exposed during the Neolithic period when the tomb was constructed. The builders selected this location on naturally elevated terrain typical of wedge tomb placement in this region.
Wedge tombs are characterised by their distinctive trapezoidal plan, wider at one end than the other, with a stone chamber covered by a low mound or cairn. They represent a later phase of megalithic tomb construction in Ireland and often contain evidence of communal burial practices. Giant's Grave exemplifies this monument type and contributes to understanding Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement patterns and ritual practices in the Londonderry area.
Giant's grave. wedge tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 12960. View the official record →
Giant's Grave is a wedge tomb situated near Magherafelt in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 12960.
Giant's grave. wedge tomb dates from the neo/b.a. period, and is classified as a megalithic tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Giant's grave. wedge tomb is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 12960.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Wedge tomb (1.9 km), Giant's grave. megalithic tomb (2.3 km), Pre-bog landscape of field walls, field clearance walls & cairns, a cairn field, a stone structure & possible megalithic tombs (3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Giant's grave. wedge tomb's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Giant's grave. wedge tomb stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.